Dear Dragons
Do Not Steal My Code! Dear Dragons... (click to open) SLIGHT MATURE WARNING Cover by TwilightWoF (TY!) Prologue You usually think of light as a comforting thing. Something to help you through the darkness, something to keep your spirits up. Something to help you get through the dark times. Well, to the four of us sitting in a small cave, watching the firelight with terrified eyes, we felt anything but ''comforted. The storm roared outside, matching the turmoil in all our hearts. Daggerwing looked at the other dragons, most of them hybrids, one a LeafWing. She shivered and pressed closer to the wall. "Is everyone alright?" Fern finally asks, her dark green wings shivering. Fern was the youngest of us all, but she had been in slavery the longest. As Fern stared out into the storm, Daggerwing reached over tenderly and patted her on the talon. She knew what it felt like to be ripped away from her home... from her ''continent ''and get dragged here. Fern gave her a wane smiled, then gently moved her talon away, scanning the others. Hydrilla rubbed a burn mark on her neck and lightly touched a huge gash on her gills. "Alright." She said thickly. Fern nodded at the others, but they were all staring into the fire. "What were we thinking?" Daggerwing suddenly burst out. "There were so many more of them and we are just dragonets!" Fern frowned. "But we got away, didn't we?" Daggerwing sighed. "But we lost Frost." Fern's gaze dropped to her talons. "Plus, they'll be looking for us now." Just as Daggerwing spoke, the sounds of thumping talons and clinking was heard from outside. "Quick! Smother the fire." Fern hissed at Daggerwing. Daggerwing leapt over and stomped onto the burning pile of embers. The light was extinguished and all of the runaways waited in silence. It stretched on and on And on And on... Daggerwing wasn't sure what time it was. She was sure she had dozed off, but she didn't feel safe falling asleep again. It was still dark and quiet, so to pass the time, Daggerwing pulled out a scroll from the bag she had managed to steal before they ran. As her claws reached into the scroll, her claws brushed the tiny carved seal. She felt tears well up into her eyes, and then blinked them away. This was her chance to tell her story. Before is was too late. She dipped her claws and began to write. ''Dear dragons, Our story begins on a day like any other... Chapter One Imagine a bright blue sky. Imagine this sky full of birds. Imagine the smell of fish being brought in from the sea. Imagine the smell of coconuts. That was my home. A small island off the River Aloo somewhere between Pyrrhia and Pantala. Imagine a beach, white sands, blue water, albatross diving for unlucky fish. '' ''Imagined it? Good. Now imagine a hut right next to a beach. The deck does right into the beach and the doors are flung wide open. Palm fronds cover the roof and flowers, herbs, and berries hang from strings on the roof. Keep this hut in your mind. It is where we begin. "DAGGERWING!" Gossamer bellowed. "GET YOUR LAZY TAIL OVER HERE!" Daggerwing covered her ears and quickly stuck the scroll under her pillow. "Coming!" She called in a silvery voice. "Just wait a minute." Daggerwing added under her breath. "WHAT WAS THAT YOUNG LADY?" Daggerwing heard Gossamer tap her talon impatiently. "Nothing!" Daggerwing said innocently. She got up and ran to the deck. "Reporting for duty." Daggerwing mock saluted. Gossamer rolled her eyes and turned to the strings of herbs hanging off the roof. "The brahmi need to be harvested." Daggerwing opened and closed her talons in exasperation. "What?! Weren't they just harvested?" Gossamery sighed impatiently at her daughter. "No, that was the BASIL. ''Keep your head together, young lady!" Daggerwing sighed, but climbed up the side of the hut, pulling down the herbs. "There." She tossed the string down to her mother. "Happy now?" Gossamer sighed, looking up at Daggerwing. "Indubitably." "Indidbltey." A voice cut in. Swallowtail stuck his head around the corner. "Fribblegrop." Gossamer and Daggerwing made the same exasperated noise. "Swallowtail. Stop causing trouble." Gossamer said. Swallowtail widened his eyes at his mother like he had never done anything wrong in his life. "''Me? ''Cause ''trouble? ''Never!" Daggerwing raised an eyebrow and Gossamer snorted. "We never found out who ate Marble's mangos..." Gossamer mused. Swallowtail shifted uncomfortably. "Perhaps someone who ''loves ''mangos..." "That could have been anyone!" Swallowtail burst out. "Nothing points to me!" Gossamer laughed. "I'm sure." Daggerwing sighed with mock primness, shaking her head. "If you two are done squabbling, I would like to get back to bed." Gossamer laughed again, more brightly. "Agreed. If your father comes home and you all are still up, he is going to have a conniption." Daggerwing looked out to sea. ''I hope father comes home soon. ''She thought wistfully. Scallopwing was a fisher, always going out to the nearby islands to trade. Daggerwing missed him terribly, but she always knew he would bring back jewels for her. Not that Daggerwing like jewels. She almost never wore jewelry, except for the bronze earrings in her ears. A long moment passed where all three of them thought. "Well...LET'S GO!" Swallowtail said, flapping his huge navy wings. Daggerwing felt a pulse of jealously. She was only a few weeks from getting her wings, but she was ready to get them ''now. '' "Ahem!" Gossamer said, and Daggerwing realized that they were already at the door of the hut. Daggerwing took a deep breath, pushing her jealousy down deep inside her. She walked through the open entrance into the small hut. The floor was covered with woven rugs and the windows were flung open. Besides the main entrance, only two rooms were in the hut. Gossamer and Scallopwing's, and Daggerwing and Swallowtail's. Daggerwing sat down in the middle of the room and laid down, tail flopping to the side. Swallowtail poked her with one claw. "Come on." Daggerwing reluctantly got up and walked to the room. It was small, with a single pile of pillows. Daggerwing laid down on her half, Swallowtail right beside her. Daggerwing felt the awake world drifting in and out before dropping into the sky of sleep. ''Dear dragons, I hope now you understand the very simple parts of my life. Sometimes, though, simple is better, and happiness can come out of simple. But I suggest you hold on, because now things Go wrong... Chapter Two Daggerwing opened her eyes. She lay still, listening to the breath of her brother. The sparkle of the full moon shone through the windows and the crashing of waves could just barely be heard in the distance. Daggerwing slowly edged out from under her brother's wing, then ran to the door of the house. Daggerwing let out a deep breath as she ran across the sands of the beach. "Turtle?" She called. "Tuuuuurtle?" A small squeak came from a hollow in the sand and Daggerwing perked up. She flopped down in front of the small hole and whistled. The baby turtle emerged slowly from the hollow and Daggerwing held out her talon. "Hi little buddy. How are you?" The turtle let out a little squeak and flopped out of the hole. "Yeah? Me too..." She stirred the sand with one claw. BOOM! Daggerwing screamed as a ring shot out from everywhere. She covered her ears with her talons and the turtle flopped back into its whole quicker than normal. "What is that?" She screamed to no one in particular. Daggerwing looked up into the sky and spotted a plume of black smoke coming from the direction of her house. Daggerwing's stomach dropped to the floor. She stood up, but before she was fully off the ground, Daggerwing was running. She dropped to the ground and looked around. The clearing was silent. Very, very silent. Suddenly, the sound of voice came to Daggerwing's ears. "Well that was messy." Daggerwing peeked around the corner and noticed wings. They were bright red like Mother's. Daggerwing leapt up and ran towards her mother, but she stopped short. This dragon was male. ''He whipped around and Daggerwing let out a startled gasp. He was HUGE! Not just tall, but muscular and his wings...WERE GIGANTIC. Plus, he had ''two ''wings, not four. The dragon was red like rubies, with dark orange underscales. He had smoke pouring out of his snout as he observed Daggerwing. "Well well well." He hissed, and his voice made shivers run under Daggerwing's scales. "Oi! Fawn! Look what we have here." A head peeked around the corner and Daggerwing yelped in surprise. This dragon was the color of the sand on the beach, a frill where spines should be. Their eyes, though, were completely black with hints of silver loops. Daggerwing shuddered as the sand-colored dragon peered at her. "Hmmmm," The sand-colored dragon said, tilting her head. "What's this?" "By the look of it," The ruby dragon said with a yawn. "The other's daughter maybe?" The sand dragon leaned forward, one gold tooth glinting in the light. "Almost wishing we hadn't killed the others." Daggerwing gasped and considered throwing up. Then the sand dragon jerked back. "Valley! She doesn't have ''wings!" ''The ruby dragon gasped and went around to the back of Daggerwing. "Oh my moons', Fawn, you're right!" A slow, sly smile crossed Valley's face. "You know," He mused. "A wingless, bronze dragon would sell ''very well ''in the Scorpion Den." Fawn's snout crinkled into a smile. "Enough to get out of the hole!" Fawn exclaimed. Daggerwing got the impression she should run, but her talons felt frozen to the ground. "Ssssell mme?" She stuttered. "Um...Yyyou ccccan't ddo that! Ii'm a...a dragon!" Fawn and Valley both raised their eyebrows at the same time. "Hmmm, barely." Valley sniffed. Fawn stepped hard on his toe. She suddenly reached into a small camel hair pouch she had around her chest and pulled out a long, think chain. Daggerwing backed into the burned wall of her hut. But in two strides, Fawn stepped right in front of Daggerwing and looped the chain around her neck, tying it at the end. Daggerwing clawed at it, but her claws were not yet grown enough, so she just hurt her claws. Fawn handed the chain over to Valley, who have it a sharp tug, causing Daggerwing to stumble forward. As the two dragon spread their wings, Daggerwing suddenly dug her talons in, yanking it back. Valley hissed and jerked his head at Fawn. She stepped over Daggerwing, frowning darkly. Fawn's tail raised, and Daggerwing noticed it had an odd barb on the end, like the scorpions she had occasionally seen her father bring home for dinner. Daggerwing barely had time to register what was happening before Fawn's tail came whistling down, smacking Daggerwing right on the snout. A bolt of pain shot through her and she whimpered, wiping a little trickle of blood out of her eye. Fawn gave her an unreadable look and grabbed her by her talons and Valley shot into the air again. They flew over the ocean, and Daggerwing's eyes suddenly became heavy. She knew she probably shouldn't fall asleep, she might get whacked again, but she felt the beating of Valley's wings harmonious and Daggerwing's eyes suddenly fluttered and closed. ''Dear dragons, '' ''I must admit that I sort of brought Fawn's hit with her tail on myself, but now that I'm thinking back onto it, I think she felt sorry for me. Anyway, she's dead now, so it doesn't matter. Oops, I just spoiled didn't I? Well...pretend you didn't hear that. Let's move on to my first taste of Pyrrhia. Chapter Three They flew and flew and flew some more. When Daggerwing woke up, she could see an island in the distance. No...more than an island...A continent. Daggerwing inhaled sharply, looking at the oceans and towering mountains. "Beautiful isn't it?" Fawn whispered. Daggerwing looked up in surprise. Fawn kept her eyes forward. "That, little dragonet, is Pyrrhia." Daggerwing gulped. "Yes." She admitted. Fawn's gaze drifted for a moment, looking kinder, but then it hardened, with another look at Valley. "Well get used to it." She snapped. "I assume you're going to be here for a while." Daggerwing nodded, too terrified to speak. "Quiet you two." Valley snapped. Fawn nodded, immediately snapping her snout shut, looking back over the ocean. They flew in silence for a bit longer before landing on a beach. Well, it looked like a beach, but it was about ten times bigger and ten times hotter. But Daggerwing was used to heat, she lived on an island with an active volcano after all. Fawn, too seemed to be unbothered by the boiling heat and the burning sand. Valley, on the other talon, looked like he would rather wear bracelets of dragon bite vipers then do this. Daggerwing sank her claws into the sand and looked up at the bright sun. She suddenly noticed a building in the distance. Huh. ''She thought. ''I wonder what that is. ''Valley suddenly let out a whistle, and Fawn looked over at him. He glared at her, and she quickly bustled over to put one wing up to cover him from the blazing sun. "Better?" Fawn asked quietly. It suddenly occurred to Daggerwing that she had completely misread their relationship. It was clear they weren't equals. In fact, Daggerwing suddenly noticed a pair of shackles around ankles, though no chains were attached. ''Wow... ''Daggerwing thought, shooting a look at Fawn, who looked extremely uncomfortable. Valley nodded. "We'll probably get to the Scorpion Den today, if this little scrap doesn't interfere." Daggerwing touched the cut on her nose and scowled. She wasn't going to "interfere" any time soon. Daggerwing shuddered. ''The Scorpion Den. That sounds cheerful. ''Valley gave the chain a tug, and began walking, Fawn covering him from the heat with her wing. Daggerwing stumbled along, watching the town grow closer and closer. She looked up at Fawn, who was looking straight ahead, no emotion to her face. Daggerwing flicked her tail until Fawn looked her way. Daggerwing tilted her head, trying to put a question in her face. Fawn looked confused for a second, frowning at Daggerwing. Daggerwing thought for a moment, then leaned down and tapped her wrists. Fawn tapped her wrists, felt the clang of metal, and light dawned in her face. Fawn flicked her tail at Valley, then made a shape with her talons that looked like a small dragon. Then she pointed to herself, and mouthed ''coins. ''Daggerwing tapped her claws, trying to piece it all together. ''Valley. Little me. Bought. Valley bought me when I was a dragonet. ''Daggerwing looked pityingly at Fawn. "I'm sorry." She half whispered, half mouthed. Fawn shot a quick glance at Valley and nodded. "It's ok." Fawn whispered, her voice gentler than Daggerwing had ever heard it. "What are you two scheming about?" Valley asked, his voice ''not ''joking. "Nothing." Fawn said innocently, looking back forward. "Hmmm." Valley said, looking skeptical. "Why would we be scheming?" Daggerwing piped up. Fawn shot her a glare, but her snout was already open. "I mean, this is kind of her fault that I'm captured, you know...I mean after all, you own her, but you don't own me, so I mean, technically, we hate...each...other." She trailed off, given the look of fury on Valley's face. He glared over at Fawn. "How did she find out?" Valley hissed, his voice sharp with daggers. "I don't know." Fawn said, bowing her head. Valley's cruel gaze shot between them. "I'll claw the answer out of you later." He hissed. Fawn gulped and shot Daggerwing a quick glare. Daggerwing hunched her wings and looked down. "But in the mean time," Valley continued, walking forward again. "We are here." Daggerwing looked up and gulped, watching the flurry of dragons inside the city that smelled of darkness and fear. ''Dear dragons, '' ''I'm sorry if my talon-writing isn't as good as it is, we were almost caught by the hunters. It is terrifying knowing that there are dragon out there who would love to see you dead. Well, let's move on. '' '''Chapter Four' They weaved between the thick, dark stalls, voices pressing into them. Daggerwing got smacked in the face with a tail of an arguing dragon. Dragons began shouting at her. Ouch, this town is loud. Why is it so...so...crowded? "Camel-hair pouches!" "Incredible roasted camel!" "BETTER roasted camel!" "I'll give you 5,000 coins for that dragonet!" Daggerwing looked over at the dragon who had said that, shivering as he smiled and gazed at her. "Sorry," Valley said, pushing in front of Daggerwing, glaring at the sand dragon that looked sort of like Fawn, but with black spirals on his scales. "She's not for sale yet." He yanked Daggerwing along, and she shot another look at the sand dragon, who was grinning at her cruelly. She shuddered and stared over at Fawn, who was fingering a jade necklace while Valley was yelling at a large, brown dragon who was blocking the road with a huge cart. Finally, Valley whistled and Fawn put down the necklace and walked beside him, Daggerwing trailing behind. They came upon a large building with excited, happy dragons scrawled on the front. Daggerwing smiled. A place that looked so beautiful couldn't possibly be horrible. Then Valley opened the door and Daggerwing gasped. "Oh no." She whispered. Fawn shot a glance over at Daggerwing as the horrible sight filled her vision. The walls were dark and dripped with mold. Dragon of all different colors were lined up on a stage, heads drooping, thick chains binding their wings, talons and necks to the wall behind them. Dragons in beautiful capes and glittering jewels were walking grandly around, observing the dragons. Valley shoved the chain into Fawn's talons and walked over to a beautiful yellow and orange dragon. Daggerwing couldn't hear what they were saying, but the dragon nodded and wrote something down on a scroll. Her thoughts drifted to the small scroll she had hidden in her home, probably now a pile of ashes. She looked down sadly. Suddenly, Valley came stalking back over, whispering something to Fawn, who shot Daggerwing another unreadable look. Valley walked over to a dragon the color of the morning sky, with odd looking gills ''in her neck. "A new one?" The dragon said in a voice thick with accent. Valley nodded. "Hmmm," The dragon said, peering at Daggerwing. "What type?" Valley shrugged. "Not sure. Found her off the continent." The dragon nodded and suddenly stepped forward. "She might sell well." The dragon nodded and suddenly took out a metal...thing. It was thin and looked extremely sharp. The dragon grabbed Daggerwing's talon and dragged the thing through her palm, making a small ''009. ''Daggerwing bit back a whimper as the dragon cleaned the blood off the needle. Fawn opened her mouth to say something, but then a roar sounded. "Fireballs!" Valley said. "We need to get her in ''now ''before the round starts." Fawn snapped her snout shut and Valley yanked her forward towards the others. He positioned her next to a small, ragged looking black dragon, who's silver wings drooped. Daggerwing watched the dark dragon as Valley took off the small chain around her neck, attached her to the wall, wrapping shackles around her back ankles, and attaching a (far ''far) ''too tight collar around her neck, attaching it to a chain linked to the wall. Then he backed up to the far side of the room, watching. "Hi." Daggerwing said, smiling up at the dragon. The dragon looked down, dark green eyes watching sadly. "Hello." He said in a deep voice. "I'm Daggerwing!" She said in a cheerful voice. "Eclipsehunter." He replied, still looking out at the audience. "Ooooooooh," Daggerwing said, looking at his shiny ebony scales. "That's pretty!" Eclipsehunter looked surprised, as if no one had ever given him a compliment before. But before he could respond, another roar bellowed. "FRIENDS! HONORED GUESTS! BUYERS! SELLERS! LET'S BEGIN!" A dragon the color of the moons, or ice bellowed, stepping out of the shadows. He was tall and muscular, with beautiful silver scales and diamonds wound around his horns. Daggerwing suddenly felt cold from horns to tail. His eyes were dark, Dark Dark And they were coming to swallow her up. ''Dear dragons, '' ''I can still remember the IceWings cold eyes to this day. I still wish that I had connected more with Eclipsehunter. I wonder how he is... Chapter Five "WE WILL BEGIN WITH A RARE DRAGON! A RAINWING!" The white dragon gestured to one of the soldiers, who unchained a dragon alight with red fury. The dragon snapped at the solider as she was dragged forward, her scales shifting to a light orange. "We'll start the bidding at 2,300." "2,500!" One dragon shouted, lifting her sea-blue talon. "2,600!" "2,800!" "3,000!" Another dragon yelled, flapping their huge orange wings. Despite the horrible situation she was in, Daggerwing couldn't help but gawk at the different kinds of dragons. She had really only seen SilkWings, and then... oh... there was that one LeafWing that washed ashore that one time, but that was it. All these colors and sparkles and beauty. But the more beauty there was, the more it made Daggerwing angry. These dragons, so sparkly and rich looking, ready to watch her be bought and sold simply for their entertainment. "3,000 going once!" None of the dragons in the room moved. Not Fawn. Not Valley. "TWICE!" The orange dragon grinned with delight. "SOLD!" The RainWing hissed loudly, baring her fangs as she was dragged over to the orange dragon, who grinned, grabbing her chain. He sniffed haughtily and handed the chain to a dragon standing next to him, who had her head bowed submissively. One by one, each dragon was sold, getting dragged away by a grinning dragon who's cloak would flap and flip as they turned. By the time they got to Eclipsehunter, Daggerwing was shaking like a leaf. Oh no! THIS IS VERY BAD! SOME CREEPY DRAGON IS GOING TO BUY ME FOR COINS! ''She took a deep breath. ''Maybe it isn't that bad? ''Then she looked at all the greedy dragons looking up at her. ''Ok, I take it back. THIS IS VERY BAD! ''Daggerwing whimpered as the dragon reached over and unchained her, dragging her forward on the podium. "HERE WE HAVE THE RAREST OF SPECIES! NO ONE QUITE KNOWS WHAT SHE IS, BUT WE'LL START AT 5,000!" Daggerwing looked out at the crowd, her body shaking so violently she thought she would topple right off the podium. Whispers began rising from the crowd, and Daggerwing was actually relieved to see a few uncomfortable faces. She even spotted some pity. "Look! No wings!" A tiny dragonet said, yanking on the cloak of his mother. "Wow...She's pretty." "Such a small dragonet." One dragon, her scales as pale as the summer sun mumured. "Poor little thing." A group of dragons said, shaking their heads. "AHEM!" The bidder yelled again. "I said... WE'll START AT 5,000!" There was a beat of silence, then someone gingerly yelled out. "5,500!" That opened the valves to the flow of bidding. "6,000!" The dragon with pale scales yelled. "6,500!" "7,000!" A dragon shrieked, flapping their huge brown wings. "7,500!" Someone shouted in a bored voice. Daggerwing looked over at the dragon, and shivered. It was the same dragon that had offered to buy Daggerwing before. She strained against the chains. The dragons eyes were so cold and dark and glittery, it made her want to shrivel up and pull away. It didn't help that he had a huge scar winding along his face and going even into his side. "8,000!" Another dragon yelled, glaring at the dragon with cold eyes. "8,500!" The dragon with the scar bellowed, his eyes blazing. "9,000!" It was a full on bidding war now. "10,000!" The dragon with the scar said, so surprisingly quiet that Daggerwing could barely hear him. He had a certain... ''finality in his voice. The other dragon looked from him to Daggerwing, wavering. Finally, the dragon shrugged and settled back, looking fairly disappointed. "10,000 going once..." Daggerwing was shaking so badly, and she was relieved to see that a few more of the faces turned from curiosity and greed to pity. "10,000 going twice... SOLD to the SandWing up front!" Daggerwing gave a little whimper, trying to stamp down her panic. A dragon, dark brown with amber spots unchained her, but then attached a long chain to the collar around her neck, then carted away the other ones. The dragon with the scar nabbed the chain, then gave it a testing yank. "THANK YOU AND GOOD-NIGHT!" The auctioneer roared, flapping his wings. "CLEAR OUT!" The dragon flicked his tongue at her, folding down his bat-like wings. Daggerwing was about two second away from collapsing with fear, but somehow, she felt she needed to be strong. Be strong for Mother. Be strong for Father. Be strong for Swallowtail. '' '''Chapter Six' Chapter Seven